Animals and their Habitats:

Where do our favourite animals live?

This unit gives a geographical context to children’s interests in, and prior knowledge of, animals through a study of five continents. It looks at pandas, penguins, sharks and elephants, as well as lesser-known birds, such as the swallow. The unit also focuses the children on specific landscapes, people and issues associated with real places. It starts by showing what these animals’ homes are like and addressing misconceptions the children might have. It also offers a chance to introduce North and South America, which is studied in the KS2 Geography Programme of Study.

Fieldwork

A visit to a local zoo provides the children with a sense of these distant places and the landscapes the creatures live in. It also gives a sense of the vast scale and distance that many of these animals travel in, and that they don’t have a home in the sense of one fixed place.

How can I support learning at home?

You can reinforce and support pupils' learning in lots of ways:

• Recognise and name some continent names: Asia, Oceania, Europe, Antarctica, Africa, North America, South America
• Discuss that some of these continents have significant hot and/or cold areas
• Discuss and describe the habitat of a significant animal 
• Visit a library Service to see and read a range of books on animals and their habitats.
• Use soft toy animals to support children with role-play.
• Describe specific human (houses, roads and bridges) and physical (natural like seas, mountains and rivers) features in these landscapes